Circuit breaker



8 Sheets-Sheet 1 QW W E. T. PLATZ CIRCUIT BREAKER Aug. 19, 1952 Filed Feb. 17, 1949 IN VEN TOR.

Aug. 19, 1952 E, T, -rz 2,607,868

CIRCUIT BREAKER Filed Feb. 17, 1949 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 BY MT 7 A,?

E. T. PLATZ CIRCUIT BREAKER Aug. 19, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 17, 1949 E. T. PLATZ CIRCUIT BREAKER Aug. 19, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 17, 1949 JNVENTOR.

Aug. 19, 1952 PLATZ 2,607,868 CIRCUIT BREAKER Filed Feb. 17, 1949 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Wmm IN VEN TOR..

Aug. 19, 1952' E. T. PLATZ; 2,607,868

CIRCUIT BREAKER Filed Feb. 17, 1949 8 Sheets-Sheet IN V ENT 0R JW2Z Aug. 19,1952 E. "r. PLATZ 2,607,868

\ CIRCUIT BREAKER Filed Feb. 17, 1949 s Sheets-Sheet 7 g- 1952 E. T.-PLATZ ,6 8

CIRCUIT BREAKER Filed Feb. 17, 1949 '8 Sheets-Sheet 8 IN VEN TOR.

BY 62.01% 7*. fzq

Patented Aug. 19, 1952 omoorr BREAKER Elwood T. Platz, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Bulldog Electric Products Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of West Virginia I 7 Application February 17, 1949, Serial N 0. 77,035

and particularly to circuit breakers having a manually operable handle or actuator arrangement operatively connected by a toggle type control arrangement or linkage system to 'a contactor for manually'opening and closing the circuit, with a latch whose automatic release automaticallypermits aspring to collapse the toggle, free of the handle or actuator arrangement and thus to open the circuit. Thelatch normally inhibits opening operation except when the latter is caused manually, as by movement of the handle or actuator arrangement.

It is a particular object of this invention to provide a novel form of manual operation arrangement for the control or toggle linkage system of such a circuit breaker.

The invention may be embodied in numerous forms. Two such forms are shown in the-drawings of this application.

For an understanding of the two embodiments herein disclosed, reference should be had to the appended drawings.

In these drawings: I

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a multipolar mag-. netic latch trip embodiment of circuit breaker, with the parts shown in o or open circuit position. a

Fig. 2 is a section view, as if on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, but showing the circuit breaker parts in the "on or circuit closed position"- Figs. 3 and 4 are views similar to Fig. 2 but showing the parts in the tripped or overload released position and in the off or open circuit position, respectively.

Figs. 5 and 6 are plan and elevation views of certain parts of the manual operation arrangement.

Fig. 7 is a section view on line 1-1 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a section view on line'88 of Fig. 5. Fig. 9 is a top plan view, showing parts of the control arrangement. I 7 V Figs. 10 and 11 are side and end views of the same parts of the control arrangement.

Fig. 12 is a section view as if on line I2I2 of Fig. 9. 7

Fig. 13 .is an exploded view of parts of the breaker mechanism.

Fig 14 Shows a n le polebimetal latch trip 3 Claims. (01. 200-89) 2 that Figs. 1-13 show a multipolar circuit breaker which includes an insulation base 40 at one end of which are line connectors 4I which may be connected to line bus bars, not shown. Straps connect the line connectors GI to stationary contacts 44 adapted to be engaged by contact tips 45,0f movable contactors 46 pivotally mounted on loose pivots 41 and connected by flexible connectors 48 to trip coils 49, in turn connected by straps 5I to load connectors 52 to which branch or load conductors may be in turn connected.

Thus, the circuit from a line bus bar to a load or branch circuit conductor is established through parts 4 l43--4 4 45--4648-4 95 I52.

The toggle linkage For controlling the movement of the contactors 46 of the breaker, a control arrangement or toggle linkage mechanism is provided and the same will now :be described. Connecting the one or more circuit breaker contacto-rs 46 of the breaker is an axle of insulation, Fig. 13, which passes through holes in the lower end of a lower end of a lower toggle link (i2 connected by a transverse pin 63 tothe lower end of a second or upper toggle link 64 whose upper end is provided with a transverse pin or shaft 65 whose ends are disposed in clearance slots 68 on opposite sides or legs of a U-shaped frame 'H) mounted on the base 40 as by screws I I. i

l The upper toggle link 64 has a holdingextension or tip 92 adapted to be engaged by a latching member 96 of U-form having in its upper leg 91 a release notch 98 for releasing the latching or holding tip 92. The U-shaped latch 96 has its upper leg 91 positioned in a hole IOI of the lower toggle link 62 and its lower leg I03 positioned in a hole I05 of that link 62, the hole I05 being considerably larger in diameter than the lower leg I03, whereby the latter may move laterally to rock the upper leg 97 for latching or releasing purposes. Latch 96 thus will be seen to be mounted on the lower link 62 to releasably latch the toggle links 6264 together.

Main operating springs I2I are provided for biasing the contactors 46 to open circuit position, either by collapsing or breaking the toggle B264 at knee or pin 63 if the toggle B264 is unlatched at 92-98, or by moving the toggle linkage 52S l upwardly as a unit, if latched at 9298.

A relatching spring I23 mounted on upper leg 91 of'latch 96 has one extending end I25 positioned in hole 253 of the link 62 (Fig. 13). The other extending end I21 is arranged to bias the 3 lower leg I03 of latch 96 constantly to the right as shown in Fig. 2, for relatching.

The latch trip means Pivotally mounted at I4I on frame 10 is a latch trip lever I43 constantly biased counterclockwise by a spring not shown connecting it and the frame 10 (Fig. 4) and having on its free end an insulating plate I49 over whose edge is loosely hooked a hook portion I59 of an armature I5I pivoted in the breaker at I53 and adapted to be pulled down by an overload in any one of the several electro-magnetic trip coils 49 to rockthe trip lever I43 clockwise so that a striker portion I55 oi the trip lever I43 will engage the lower leg I03 of the U-shaped latch 96 to rock it clockwise on the axis of its upper leg 91 as a pivot, the upper leg being journalled in hole I9I of link 62, to align release notch 98 of the latch 96 with the holding extension 92 of link 64 for releasing the latter and the mechanism as a whole, on overload in any pole of the breaker.

The manual actuation means Disposed above the insulating cover 209 of the Operation When the parts are in the on or circuit closed position, as shown in Fig. 2, notch 98 of upper leg 91 of latch 96 is not in alignment with holding extension 92 of link 64, but rather that holding extension 92 is engaged by the leg 91, the latter being then held in its latching position by the bias of spring I23 counterclockwise on the lower leg I03 of latch 96. The bias of springs I2I on contactors 46 to bias them upwardly on their pivots 41 is restrained by the toggle formed by links 62-64, locked by the engagements at 65-2I4 and 9298-.

In the event sleeve 2I2 is rotated to the left from the position of Fig. 2 to that of Fig. 4 by off movement of handle 2!, the slots 2I4 of sleeve 212 will pull upwardly on pin 65 and on the toggle 64-62, and thus, with the cooperation of springs I2I, the contactors 46 will be moved upwardly for circuit opening, Fig. 4.

Reverse rotation of the handle 201 will cause the sleeve 2I2 to return from the open circuit position of Fig. 4 to the closed circuit position of Fig. 2; slots 2I4 moving pin 65 and toggle 6462 downwardly to return contactors 46 to the closed circuit position, and stressing springs I 2'I.

During manual movement, links 62-454 are latched to each other by the latch engagement at 96-438, to move as a unit.

Trip

In the event of an overload in any pole, a magnet 49 will pull armature I5'I downwardly to rock trip lever I43 clockwise on its pivot [4| so that striker I55 will move the lower leg i193-oi latch 96to the left from Fig. Zand thus rock the upper leg 91 of latch 96 clockwise to present ndtchi'tii to holding extension 92 of holding arm 99 and thus no longer to prevent contactors 49 and link 62 from moving upwardly with respect to link 64, the holding engagement of leg 91 and holding extension 92 having previously been such that extension 92 prevented latch 96 and link 62 from moving upwardly relatively of link 64 under bias of springs I2I. With such holding engagement destroyed by tripping movement of latch 95, contactors 46 and link 62 move upwardly with the movement being such that knee or pin 63 con- I necting links 62 and 64 slides to the left and upwardly around pin 65 as a pivotal axis, toggle 6264 collapsing as shown in Fig. 3. Pin 65 and sleeve 2I2 remain stationary during such tripping movement so that tripping movement of the contactors 45 and of the lower link 62 is free of the handle and the sleeve 2I2.

If, as is ordinarily the case, there is no restrainin force on the handle, the thus described tripping movement of the contactors 46 and the links 6264 to the position of Fig. 3 will be followed Without pause by movement of the sleeve 2I2 and the handle 20I, from the tripped position of Fig.3 to the off position of Fig. 4 where the movement of the parts terminate. This is a handle return and relatchin movement and is caused by the spring 220 which pulls pin 65 and with it the sleeve 2I2 and the handle 20I from the tripped position of Fig. 3 to the off position of Fig. 4. In such movement, the toggle 62--64 will become straightened as shown in Fig. 4.

Spring I45 will have meanwhile returned trip lever I4I to its normal position, Figs. 2, 4, in response to termination of the current flow in coil 49 which had momentarily moved the trip lever I4I downwardly for tripping.

The separation of trip lever I43 from latch 96 will permit the relatching or latch biasing spring I23 to move the latch 99 counterclockwise with respect to link 62 so as to reestablish the holding engagement at 92-98.

In this way, tripping under ordinary circumstances due to overload terminate with all parts in the off position of Fig. 4 just as if the circuit openin had been in response to manual operation of the handle 20I. Even with the handle held and parts 2DI, 2I2 and 65 remaining'stationary, the circuit will have become opened, by movement of parts I43, 96, 62, 64 and 46. Trip thus can occur free of or without requiring movement of the parts under manual control, namely sleeve 2 I2 or handle 20 I.

Figs. 14 and 15 Unlike the multipolar, magnetic latch trip embodiment of Figs. 1 to 13 where the axle 69 projected well beyond the frame 10 so as to be connected at its ends to two outside contactors 4B and wherein the circuit responsive mean for moving the latch trip lever I43 was a plurality of latch trip magnetic coils 49, the. embodiment of Figs. 14 to 15 is formed as a single pole embodiment with bimetal latch trip means and this embodiment will now be described.

The axle 60 does not project well beyond the frame 10 but rather terminates substantially at such frame and is connected to a single contactor 46 and to the lower link 62. of toggle 6264.

For movement of the latch trip lever I43 there is provided a. hook 250 hooked at its upper end 25I around the insulating plate I49 and connected at its lower end to a bimetal strip 252 in turn mountedon and connected to the load connector links in locked position and permitting said link age to collapse when released, circuit responsive means for automatically releasing said latch means, a contact pivotally connected to said lower link, a manually rotatable actuating means for moving said contact into open circuit position without releasing said latch means, spring means for biasing said contactor to open circuit position upon manual or automatic opening, spring means for simultaneously returning said actuating means to open circuit position upon relatching of said releasable latch, a spirally slotted member having a pin disposed in the slots said pin movably connecting said upper link and said spirally slotted member, the slots of said spirally slotted member havin non-curved portions for holding said contactor in an actuated position, guide means disposed adjacent to said spirally slotted member and engaging said pin thereby restricting the motion of said pin to a linear direction; said guide means being in the form of a frame.

2. The structure of claim 1, the frame having cutout portions.

3. The structure of claim 2, the cut out portions being rectangular in shape and disposed vertically so as to restrict the motion of said pin to a linear vertical movement.

ELWOOD T. PLATZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 870,444 Leonard et al. Nov. 5, 1907 893,258 Mills July 14, 1908 926,330 Hubert June 29, 1909 1,815,561 Getchell July 21, 1931 2,203,131 Coy June 4, 1940 2,354,157 Swingle July 18, 1944 2,360,922 Wilckens Oct. 24, 1944 2,469,277 Schmidt May 3, 1949 2,506,505 Jefirey May 2, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 753,274 France Aug. 7, 1933 

